Ecuador Is Suspending the Bank Accounts of Environmental Activists

"Financial strangulation, as he put it, is the latest weapon in the government's escalating effort to clear the way for expanded mining and oil development in one of the world's most biodiverse countries. Months earlier, officials had temporarily frozen the accounts of several of Ecuador's most prominent environmental defenders, including Tapia, citing investigations into unjust private enrichment and financing terrorism."

"Carrying cash is too risky these days. Ecuador is in the grip of an ongoing security crisis, with transnational criminal organizations spilling in from neighboring Colombia and Peru. But when Tapia tried to log into the Banco Pichincha mobile banking app, a message flashed on the screen: There was a problem with his account, and he should visit the nearest branch."

Ecuador faces a security crisis enabling transnational criminal organizations to operate across its borders. The government has employed financial strangulation tactics against environmental defenders, including Indigenous leaders like Andrés Tapia, by freezing their bank accounts under allegations of unjust enrichment and terrorism financing. These accusations lack substantiation, yet prosecutors continue pursuing charges despite court orders lifting account freezes. This strategy targets prominent activists working to protect Ecuador's biodiverse Amazon region from expanded mining and oil development. The financial restrictions prevent defenders from conducting normal transactions and accessing resources needed for their advocacy work.

Read at Truthout